"The mood was also helped by signs that some feared logistical problems had so far failed to fully materialise. What was expected to be the busiest day in Heathrow airport’s history passed off smoothly, as fewer passengers than forecast arrived and departed, aided through terminals by a small army of volunteers. Traffic in central London was not significantly affected by the introduction of designated lanes, as drivers again heeded warnings not to come into town." - Financial Times(£)

Will the Olympics lift the national mood?

"The unseen factor was how much the Olympics seem to be lifting spirits after the rain, the cold, the strikes, the queues and the traffic jams. Mr Cameron described it as ‘a great moment for Britain to come together’, and promised parts of the opening ceremony would be ‘spine tingling’. All this, and still hours to go. Gold medals for Britain? From tonight, at last, that is solely in the hands of the Olympians." - Daily Mail

Fleet Street turns on Romney, as though it were saying: "They're OUR games, and criticism is our business, not an American politician's - let alone a Republican one"...

"In a day dubbed the “Romneyshambles”, he let slip that he had a briefing with Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, embarrassed Ed Miliband by calling him “Mr Leader”, and welcomed the view of the beach volleyball arena “out the backside of Downing Street”. This led to a spiky retort from David Cameron, who remarked how easy it is to host an Olympics “in the middle of nowhere” — widely seen as an allusion to the Salt Lake City Winter Games, which Mr Romney oversaw." - The Times (£)

"Speaking in front of 60,000 assembled in Hyde Park at a concert to mark the end of the Olympic Torch relay, the London Mayor last night reaffirmed the city's zeal for the event. 'There are some people coming from around the world who don't yet know if we are ready,' the Mr Johnson roared. 'There's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we are ready. Are we ready? Yes we are!'" - Daily Mail

Vindication for Sayeeda Warsi as she is cleared by the Standards Commissioner

"Paul Kernaghan, the House of Lords standards commissioner, said he had dismissed the allegation that she had wrongly claimed expenses for overnight accommodation. Her only minor breach had been a failure properly to register a property in the Lords’ register of interests. In a statement, Lady Warsi said she was “delighted’’ to draw a line under the matter. David Cameron said the verdict had cleared the way for her to lead the Tories’ summer campaign for the election of police and crime commissioners later this year." - Financial Times (£)

"Lady Warsi has been cleared of expenses irregularities by a Lords investigation but found in breach of its code of conduct over her failure to properly register a property with the Lords. The findings of the Lords standards commissioner, Paul Kernaghan, were confirmed after the Tories announced the key part of the findings – but made no mention of the breach. The party said later this was because Warsi had already publicly acknowledged the lapse." - The Guardian

Police numbers have fallen to their lowest level in a decade - Daily Express

British troops could withdraw from Afghanistan a year early

"Britain’s 9,500 combat troops posted in the southern province of Helmand will be brought home by the end of 2014 under the present plans. However, the Defence Secretary acknowledged for the first time that the British pull-out could come sooner if a swifter exit is favoured by the United States. He suggested that the end of next year was the earliest possible completion date for the British drawdown because of the logistical challenges of bringing £4 billion of military kit home." - The Times (£)

"Vince Cable, who prompted uproar on Wednesday night by agreeing he ‘probably would’ make a good replacement for Mr Osborne, yesterday denied pushing for the job. ‘We are part of a team, we have a collectively agreed policy, and I’m delivering on my bit of it, which centres particularly on the area of industrial strategy, and I’m not proposing a radically different approach,’ said the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary." - Daily Mail

"Mr Osborne told international business leaders: “You will hear those arguing that we should abandon our plan and spend and borrow our way out of debt. These are the siren voices luring Britain on to the rock: we won’t go there.” The chancellor said the coalition’s fiscal stance allowed the Bank of England to pursue an active monetary policy: privately government officials hope the BoE will soon embark on a new round of quantitative easing and make a further cut in interest rates from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent." - Financial Times (£)

"Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, said a U-turn could spark panic in the markets and send borrowing costs soaring. He said: “I would say to the Chancellor, ‘Stay the course’.” He warned that the cost of “wavering or looking like you are wavering” would be “very high”. He said Britain was sowing the seeds for recovery but “you have to have credible public finances” before moving on growth." - Daily Express

...But Lord Ryder is once again contemptuous of the Chancellor and Prime Minister

"In a demolition of the Government’s attempts to rekindle economic growth, Lord Ryder of Wensum, the former Conservative chief whip, said that neither Mr Osborne nor David Cameron had a strategy to steer the economy back on course. He said the pair were “obsessed” with the 24-hour news media, while the Government had no one capable of “building the big picture”. “At the moment I think Mr Osborne’s eyes are as attracted to the management of news with Mr Cameron. They meet twice a day for that very purpose." - The Times (£)

“No friendships at the top,” Enoch Powell insisted. Enoch was never a man who found it easy to form friendships with political equals. David Cameron and George Osborne, who do, would disagree, as would William Hague: all three men are firm friends. So Mr Osborne’s critics will carp in vain. The only reply they will elicit from the Prime Minister is: “We are both in this together.” - Bruce Anderson, Daily Telegraph

Peter Hoskin: Tory MPs now see Osborne as leader as "a hell of a long shot"

"So what chance now that the Chancellor will become Prime Minister, or just Conservative Party leader? “It’s one hell of a long shot,” says one Tory MP, and it is hard to disagree. But Mr Osborne still has some advantages. Those MPs who are loyal to him are very loyal to him, such that he has an identifiable Praetorian Guard composed of up-and-comers such as Claire Perry and Matthew Hancock. And, even amid the rising disgruntlement, he is still widely regarded as a warmer figure than David Cameron, more in touch with his party’s backbenchers." - Peter Hoskin, The Times (£)

Row over gay sex between David Cairns charity and Scottish churches goes on - Scotsman

ECB: We will do whatever it takes to preserve the Euro

"The European Central Bank’s mandate allows it to fight excessive borrowing costs for eurozone countries, Mario Draghi, its president, said on Thursday, sparking a market rally amid hopes the bank would intervene to buy sovereign bonds. The euro strengthened and the bond prices of debt issued by stressed eurozone countries rallied after Mr Draghi said the ECB was “ready to do whatever it takes” to preserve the single currency. “Believe me, it will be enough,” he told a conference in London." - Financial Times (£)

Elite universities vow to admit significantly more state pupils and those from low-income families - Daily Mail

"Harriet Harman is wrong. Tory feminists are rising"

"2010 brought an influx of women — and even the occasional man — whom I would label Tory feminists.Just look at the all-party groups. The one on sex equality is now chaired by Amber Rudd (Tory); the one on women in Parliament by Mary Macleod (Tory); women, peace and security is run by Nicola Blackwood (Tory); and zero tolerance of female genital mutilation by Jane Ellison (Tory). And the group trying to improve the quality of maternity services has the Tory Dr Daniel Poulter in charge." - Anushka Asthana, The Times (£)

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